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Dakota.....I believe that our Kris has portal vein embolization, which redirects the blood supply to the healthy portion of the liver to stimulate cell growth before surgery. I am hoping for her to chime in. There have been others and I hope for those to chime in and share their thoughts with you.Hugs,Marion

THIS INFORMATION IS NOT INTENDED NOR IMPLIED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PROVIDER

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Wow, It's a good news/not so good news story. Hang in and hang on. I am also anxious to hear what the ONC has to say as I have not heard of this before. I am elated though that the Cancer was held at bay.

Teddy ~In our hearts forever~ATTITUDE is EVERYTHINGAny suggestion I offer is intended as friendly advice based solely on my own experience. Please consult your doctor for professional guidance.

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My sister had portal vein embolisation to grow the part of her liver that was to be left behind after her resection. It did not grow as much as they hoped but it did increase. I'm sorry I can't comment more as to if they can repeat the procedure or what the alternatives are.

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AGHHHHHHH! As if you guys don't have enough on your plates. Say, not sure if I ever asked you about getting another opinion? It can't hurt and I don't believe the ONCs care, they understand. New pairs of eyes may see something different. Come vent here anytime. Good news that you won, just so much BS you don't need right now. Please think about another opinion just to have crossed all your options.

Teddy ~In our hearts forever~ATTITUDE is EVERYTHINGAny suggestion I offer is intended as friendly advice based solely on my own experience. Please consult your doctor for professional guidance.

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Hi, sorry to chime in so late... Don't know how I missed this.Yes, I have a tumor in section 8 predominantly. It is wrapped around the vena cava and has already taken 2 of the 3 hepatic arteries. It sounds like a similar placement??I was given a glimmer of hope for resection. We did a portal vein embolization. I believe the left side continues to die off as the right side grows... BUT the lymph nodes exploded so I am no longer a surgical candidate.If you can get the biopsy genetically tested to see about any info on which chemo works best, great. I had gem/Ox for 6 cycles and it worked wonderfully. Side effects are rather difficult for most of us. I also had gem/Xeloda, which worked on the tumor, but not the lymph nodes.By the way, we ALL hate this cancer!! So vent away!And if you didn't have enough to worry about, you have the business, too. Hopefully that worry is mostly over and you can again concentrate all energies on fighting the monster.

KrisJ"Don't just have minutes in the day; have moments in time."Any opinions I give are based on personal experiences, and are not based on medical knowledge. I strongly suggest receiving medical care and opinions.

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Hi Dakotabeann,

I am new here and have not yet posted an introduction, but I wanted to let you know that, based on some postings I read here, I called Dr. Chapman's office and mentioned that I saw him listed on the advisory board for this site. They said he would provide a second opinion at no charge. I would just need to send the medical records and images on disc via FedEx and he and his team would review them for me and provide their assessment.

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Regarding to the golf ball are they describing it as round, or just for size factor. Mine was described as the size of a cantaloupe, but they didn't necessarily describe it as round. If that makes sense. Are you guys feeling good about seeking a second opinion? I am about to do that myself in a couple weeks. Blessings.Porter

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Dakota, My gut and my mind are telling me you need another opinion. Have you asked that all important question of how many CC patients this DR. has seen? It does not sound like he is familiar with this. Most cancers have spikes around the tumor. I would definitely get another opinion and sooner than later. You need an opinion at another place another ONC. I would not be with an ONC who asks more questions than I do. Sorry, that is just my opinion. Best of luck as always.

Teddy ~In our hearts forever~ATTITUDE is EVERYTHINGAny suggestion I offer is intended as friendly advice based solely on my own experience. Please consult your doctor for professional guidance.

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When the tumor in my liver (I try to NEVER say "mine") was initially found it was irregularly shaped with a thin tail leading to the bile duct. By the time I began treatment (2 months) it was pretty round and well defined, but still had the thin trail to the bile duct. So I have seen both shapes with this tumor. The original onc hoped it was benign because of the irregular shape, but the biopsy concluded differently. Within a few short weeks, the tumor had formed into a more cohesive shape.

KrisJ"Don't just have minutes in the day; have moments in time."Any opinions I give are based on personal experiences, and are not based on medical knowledge. I strongly suggest receiving medical care and opinions.

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Happy Thanksgiving to you Dakota and family -Sound like a very familiar story to us. My husband's tumor was in basically the same place and we went in to surgery not knowing if they would get it all. They did the laproscopic procedure first then went into do the hepatectomy of the left side of his liver and the caudal lobectomy. The the Rou-en-Y procedure after taking out all the bile ducts, gall bladder, etc. His 6-8 hour surgery turned into 14 hours but there were complications related to scarring and adhesions from a previous surgery. We went into it knowing that they might not be able to get it all and the risk of not getting it all meant that it might spread quickly and aggressively. We also knew that our only chance at a "Cure" was surgery. We were not told it would eliminate radiation in the area. In fact we are now in the process of considering radiation as a treatment just to make sure they got all the cancer. We are 8 out of 12 doses down on Gem/Ox chemo.I guess our thoughts for surgery were too look as taking the chance the surgery might work versus knowing what the outcome would be eventually if we did nothing.It was rough. They scheduled the surgery for us before we had even made up our minds. It wasn't until we came back a week later for pre-op that we were sure we were making the right decision.I would just make sure that whatever surgeon you chose to do that had lots of experience in these types of surgeries.Good Luck and good holidays.

KrisV

Any advice given is based on my experiences and should not be substituted for any medical recommendations. Please speak with your provider before making any changes.

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Thoughts and prayers sent your way!

KrisJ"Don't just have minutes in the day; have moments in time."Any opinions I give are based on personal experiences, and are not based on medical knowledge. I strongly suggest receiving medical care and opinions.

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I'm sorry to hear this. I hope you get the chemo attack in place soon.

KrisJ"Don't just have minutes in the day; have moments in time."Any opinions I give are based on personal experiences, and are not based on medical knowledge. I strongly suggest receiving medical care and opinions.

The information expressed is not medical advice. The discussion boards are not intended to replace the services of a trained health professional or to be a substitute for the medical advice of physicians or other healthcare providers. Read the full disclaimer.